By Victor Schutters
Last modified November 2, 2012
After having lived through considerable tension during the aircraft's attack by enemy fighters or anti-aircraft fire, all that was left for a stricken airplane's members was to leave it by parachute.
Jumping out of the airplane was probably the first jump any airman had made till then, simply because the majority of them had received but scant training in the physical evacuation of an airplane before flying missions over occupied Europe.
As the distance flown further by the aircraft after the crew's bailout could represent many kilometers, in most instances the airmen landed relatively far away from their craft's crash place. The first thing one had to do was to hide his parachute in order not to be noticed by the Germans. These were systematically searching the area and the houses in the vicinity of which they thought downed Allied airmen could be hiding.
To locate himself was also of primary importance, in order to move in the best possible direction. With the help of the compass and the map which, among other articles, were to be found in his escape kit, the airman could from the start better determine the place, or at least the region, even the country he was in. In many cases, showing the map to some helping stranger could help him in moving along with a better knowledge of his geographical position. [see the text under "Evasion aids".]
The airman could then dare ask help from the civilian population in the hope somebody would be prepared to help him hide. After that, hopefully contact the Underground, which would organize his evasion. This all was no easy thing and was further complicated by the difficulty in making one understood by persons who generally didn't understand nor speak English. Furthermore, the German authorities had issued decrees stipulating that any citizen giving any kind of help to Allied airmen were liable of the death penalty.
As soon as the airman had been able to find refuge somewhere, the person who was hiding him generally made contact with one of the town's or village's teachers, doctors or a priest or even the location's burgomaster. Usually, such people knew one or another member of the Resistance. Nevertheless, the Underground member eventually contacted didn't necessarily belong to an organization whose aim was to help airmen stranded in Belgium or inside the territory of a neighboring occupied country. The "Résistant" could indeed be a member of a network specialized in the clandestine press, intelligence or sabotage actions. Knowing that, Comet had contacted the different Résistance groups to advise them that Comet had to be alerted in every case where an evading airman was involved.
It often happened that before, during or by landing in his parachute, an airman got wounded and was thus in need of medical help. In such cases, a doctor had to be fetched, and one who not only would be prepared to help but also to go about his work in all discretion. For obvious reasons, to bring the airman to any hospital was out of the question and, if seriously wounded, the conditions under which the doctor had to intervene were far from ideal. Sometimes, a simple visit to a dentists' was made with infinite precautions, as there were differences in the way dental care that was provided, in the United States for example, and the dentist could quickly have doubts about the patient's nationality.
A rigorous identification of the airman was the first thing Comet had to ensure from the moment their first contact with him was established. The Germans had in many instances infiltrated false airmen inside " La Ligne " ("The Line") - as the Comet network had been called before the arrest of Andrée De Jongh on 15 January 1943. These were German servicemen wearing British or American uniforms, who had a very good knowledge of English and the respective pronunciation and uses on both sides of the Atlantic. As one can easily imagine, if such schemes weren't quickly unveiled, dramatic consequences could follow.
The airmen's identification was in itself not so easily attained, as many of them, being wary themselves, found the questions put to them too precise and were afraid that their answers could in some way help the German cause if such information became available to the enemy. In fact, before leaving their base in England, each airman was instructed in strict security regulations. Not only were they questioned about their name, their rank, their service number but also on the type of aircraft they had flown on, the composition and identity of their fellow crew members, their mission's target, the bombing results, etc.
After some initial difficulties, an efficient solution was found to the problem: once the basic questionnaire had been completed, it was sent by radio to the Intelligence Service in London which could then proceed to all necessary verifications, the conclusions of which could ultimately been sent over by coded message to the escape organization.
Another way to verify if an airman was genuine or not, was to ask him to write something down. The way Anglo-Saxons formed letters and numbers was distinctly different from that in German handwriting. Some small details were of important significance, for example, the Germans' crossing of the number 7 compared to the uncrossed numeral by Americans and the Germans' habit of writing the number 4 more in the shape of a lightning bolt.
It often happened that an airman, who had been taken in charge by Comet for some time, was asked to help in identifying a new arrival. Very sharp questions such as describing an English military airfield or about Piccadilly Circus in London could then be put and help in exposing an usurper.
After a satisfactory completion of the identification procedure, the production of forged identity documents could then start.
Unless the photographs the airman had been supplied with before his departure from England could be used, the airman had to be photographed in order to fabricate a false ID card as well as false work papers. In such cases, at the beginning, the photos were made in Photomaton cabins. The Germans having become more suspicious, it was decided afterwards that only trusted photographers were to shoot the photos and make the prints themselves. In many evasion reports, successful evaders often mentioned that the pictures they had been supplied with before the mission were either too large or too small or for some reason not useful. From a certain date, Comet too asked London to supply Allied airmen with the kind of pictures that could safely be used in false documents.
Those false documents were either created out of nothing or made up with the help of local administrative departments many employees of which were members of the Résistance.
As for the rubber stamps, which were used for authentication of the documents, they were either sneaked from administration offices or counterfeited by professionals who had joined the Résistance's ranks.
In case the airman had until then not found any suitable and safe lodging, such help was then the following step to be undertaken. In order to find such hiding places on the evader's way to England, Comet called upon people they could trust and who were ready to take the men into their homes in full discretion. To limit the risks to a minimum, such work was given only to trustworthy people the discretion of whom the organization could be sure of. The preference was given to people who had no children of school age. In some cases where trusted lodgers had children, the discretion of which was not possible to ensure, the airmen were, for example, reported to the young ones as being long lost cousins from far away, speaking another tongue.
To further help in making his presence unnoticeable on any premises, the evader was hidden in attics, cellars or any other safe hiding place from where he could flee in case of emergency, something most were always on the verge of preparing themselves for.
Together with lodging, food was undoubtedly one of the hardest problems to be solved.
The Belgian population was indeed heavily rationed, food was often difficult to access and when some of it was available, it was often of very poor nutritional quality.
Some of the food articles, which were available, were often very expensive and every added mouth to any household was a matter of concern. To have a better idea of the rationing imposed by the German authorities, here's an example of what was at some time during the war the daily ration an adult was allowed to receive: 20 grams of meat, 200 grams of potatoes, 225 grams of bread, 7½ grams of jam and an equivalent portion of honey.
The control of the food distribution was managed by way of a limited amount of numbered ration stamps, issued in different colors each of which corresponded to the nature of the goods. Faced with the difficulties in obtaining food through the official channel, the more affluent bought it on the black market, where the prices were prohibitive. Here are a few examples of black market prices : 1 kilo of sugar went for 125 BEF ; 1 kilo of butter for 325 BEF ; 1 kilo of meat for 200 BEF ; 1 kilo of coffee for 2000 BEF, 1 kilo of white bread for 75 BEF ; an orange or a lemon cost 25 BEF ; an egg, 8 BEF. To have a better idea of the matter, one must know that the average monthly salary of a worker was in the 1200-1800 BF range at the time. Furthermore, the quality of those "luxury" goods was often far from what it had been before the war.
When one thinks about the inflation that has taken place since those times, it is not difficult to imagine the astronomical sums those prices represented then. Those wartime black market prices roughly correspond to their nominal value in today's Euros.
The lodgers were financially helped by Comet's treasury managers, such help being in the range of 70 BEF per day and per airman. That kind of inevitably meager allotment was often too small as to allow the fulfillment of vital needs and people had to manage as best they could.
The German authorities requisitioned the majority of the food produced in the country and were transporting it by trainloads to Germany to feed the German population and mainly their soldiers. It often happened that Resistants organized raids on German food stocks and food convoys to recuperate the most food they could and which was then shared with the various organizations, including Comet.
One other way to help the people who were sheltering and feeding evading airmen was to pinch leaves of ration stamps, often with the help of municipal clerks officially involved at some stage or another in their distribution.
The clothing was another hurdle. Like all consumer articles, clothes were not easily available and as the war wore on, they could not be replaced and had thus to be roughly patched with whatever piece of textile one could find. Supplying the airmen with shirts, vests, pants, overcoats, footwear, etc was thus a very difficult business and ruse was often used in that endeavor. Not forgetting that the generally healthy foreigners' heights and sizes was another handicap in finding suitable, inconspicuous clothing that would not arouse suspicion.
In order to lighten the burden on some lodgers or to avoid too long stays in the same place, the evaders had in most cases to make constant changes of abode. Moving them from one hiding place to another was another very risky activity the Comet members had to handle. In the great majority of cases, the airman had touched ground in the countryside and most often his first contact was with farmers. Either these or other local people refused to help the evader or, as must often have happened in undocumented instances, denounced them to the Germans, either against money or as a way to avoid potential problems with the authorities. Most of the times, the airman sooner or later received some help and was put in contact with a member of the underground. After his evacuation to some town where he could more easily be hidden, he waited the moment his departure could be organized and he could be on his way to England.
That was the usual, ideal procedure. But due to hesitations that could arise for whatever reason, to unforeseeable circumstances that could occur, to arrests of members happening in the Comet network, schemes had to be devised to ensure the airmen's safety, lodging and transportation in the most discreet possible way. Danger lurked everywhere and everybody had to be extremely careful.
The Germans had requisitioned all private cars and many other motor vehicles. Very few of them were on the road and the great majority of movements happened on foot, by bicycle, by tramway inside the cities or between nearby ones, the longer distances having to be traveled by train.
The tramway's advantage was that the destination was not mentioned on the fare ticket and one could thus change cars at will in order to get from one place to another. This was a helpful means to prevent being efficiently followed or at any rate to be aware of being stalked, having then the possibility to react to the situation. In addition, it was possible to buy transport cards that were valid for several trips and it was sufficient to present the card to the controller and have it punched without having to say a word. This was obviously the best and easiest way to proceed for English-speaking travelers.
On the other hand, the tramways had their disadvantages as the Germans frequently controlled them. The travelers were in most cases forced to leave the vehicle and, according to who or what they were searching for, the Germans checked their identities or searched their luggage.
Bringing evading Allied airmen to Spain so they could return to their bases in England was Comet's main and final objective. The route to be followed to attain that goal had to be planned as soon as possible. Some kind of priority was given to the repatriation of pilots, as their position in a crew was deemed more important than other ones aboard an aircraft, pilots having the longest period of training in the crews.
The route back was a long and perilous voyage. The airmen were often evacuated by groups of twos or threes and were accompanied by guides who made sure everything worked according to plan.
Many guides were needed along the way, each one leading the evader his part of the route, handing him over to the next guide who took him in charge. To ensure secrecy, seldom did any guide know the identity of the other guides from whom they received the evaders, or to whom they handed them over.
In order to avoid arrest, numerous instructions had to be strictly followed. For example, a guide made sure he didn't buy train tickets with consecutive registration numbers so that in case of control it couldn't be guessed evaders and guide were traveling together. The controls could happen anywhere, at railway stations, on board trains, at bridges, crossroads, etc. Anyone's identity could be checked almost anywhere and by different branches of the German police (the Gestapo, the Geheime Feldpolizei or the Feldgendarmerie), or by other officials looking for travelers busying themselves in the black market. In France, besides policemen, French militiamen were also often involved in such controls, in conjunction with their German "partners".
When passing through controls, most of the airmen were instructed to act as deaf and mute. It was indeed practically impossible to make them learn to declare their identity without baring their Anglo-Saxon accent. The more so that they would have been utterly unable to give a reasonable answer to any further questions…
The controls, especially in occupied France, were very strict and one's presence in any region on the way had to be justified by official documents. That's the reason evaders had to be in possession of (faked) identity documents, work permits, travel permits that their local authorities had to deliver to them before departure from any starting point.
Care was taken to willfully "age" such documents so they would look worn by long use and not look too recently made. Making up such documents was no easy task and the forgers had to take into account the multiple changes the French authorities made to official regulations. In case such modifications weren't followed, some forged official's signature might be considered invalid or out of date.
As for the route followed, many different itineraries had to be chosen according to the circumstances and the stages were numerous. One typical of those seemingly interminable routes led the airmen from Brussels to the border village of Rumes, in Belgium, after having changed trains in Tournai.
Crossing the Franco-Belgian border was then made on foot to the French village of Bachy, thanks to the complicity of friendly customs people and to local guides who knew the region well. It was imperative, though, before crossing the border to check that nothing on the airman's person could give away where he came from. Any indication of his country of origin or of his unit, the names and addresses of his helpers and lodgers, everything had to be eliminated before traveling further. This was of capital importance. Special attention was also given to what they had in their pockets, the details of their clothes, any marking that could give a hint of their not being what their false papers mentioned. Cigarettes of American or English brands were banned also, as that would have meant immediate suspicion and dangerous situations not only for them but also for their guides and, ultimately, for whole parts of the organization.
It sometimes happened that a particular airman had fallen in love with a young girl who had come to his help. That could lead to his wanting to keep some memento of her in his things, a letter, an address and a photograph. Such more private items too had to be absolutely discarded before traveling on, as any such small bit of information could prove disastrous to the network.
Even some gestures had to be avoided. For example, when they lit a cigarette, the airmen used to protect their lighter with their hands from the wind that was often present on the airfields. Acting so when it was not necessary could of course alert the Germans who were aware of this particular habit. Another way of behaving which could betray the nationality of some of the aviators was the fact that Americans usually cut their food before starting to eat and then move the fork to their right hand to put it to their mouth. This kind of habit too had to be avoided.
Once they had crossed over into France, the evaders took a train to Lille. From there, they traveled by train first to Paris, then to Bordeaux.
Once in Bordeaux, another train took them to Bayonne where they were given bicycles to ride through the Landes region towards the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains. Some of the airmen had never ridden a bicycle before in their lives and some memorable incidents took place along the way.
After a meal and recuperating some strength at the last relays, Basque guides led the evaders through smugglers' paths over the Pyrénées.
It was during this last, hard physical experience that they had to cross the Bidassoa River, forming a natural border between France and Spain. The river seldom allowed an easy crossing and, especially by cold weather and at rising-water times, turned out to be a formidable obstacle. [For details about the various routes followed by evaders and their guides in the Pyrenees mountains, see the texts about the classical road and the alternate Eastern itineraries.]
Arriving at last in Bilbao, Spain, the evaders were taken over by the British diplomatic corps and driven by car to Madrid. From there, still under diplomatic immunity, they were brought to Gibraltar from whence they left for the United Kingdom, either by airplane or boat.
The experiences the airmen had lived through from the moment they jumped out of their aircraft until their return to their military base in England were in most cases really epic. The difficulties they had had to face in order to avoid falling into German hands as well as the tiring voyage to get back to their unit were well worth the efforts. Not only because they had returned safely, but also because their return had a huge and positive impact upon their comrades in their Squadron, Group and in fact, throughout the Allied air forces in general. Knowing that if they had to abandon their aircraft over the Netherlands, Belgium or France, the Allied aircrews leaving on a mission knew they had a fair chance to evade capture and this was evidently a boost to their morale.